A data storage system implemented by an organization may include numerous entities (e.g., computing devices such as personal computers, server computers, mobile devices, etc, as well as storage devices such as magnetic storage devices, tape libraries, etc.). For example, the data storage system may include a set of first entities storing data that the organization wishes to protect (e.g., a set of computing devices external to the organization) and a second entity that performs data storage operations upon the data (e.g., a local computing device that copies the data of external computing devices to a storage device). The data storage system may also include a third entity that manages the data storage operations (e.g., a managing computing device that authenticates the external computing devices, determines if they are authorized to access the local computing device, and schedules copy operations).
In such a data storage system or in other data storage systems, the organization may wish, for various reasons, to exclude certain entities from performing data storage operations or from having data storage operations performed on their data. For example, the organization may no longer wish to protect the data of certain of the first entities, such as those of an external organization. One way the organization may implement this is by removing the authorization of these external computing devices to access resources in the data storage system and their ability to access such resources. However, if the organization is unable to perform either of these steps for one reason or another (e.g., the organization does not have effective control over them), the external computing devices in this example may not be effectively excluded from requesting the use of resources in the data storage system. Therefore, these external computing devices may continue to request that the organization's local computing device perform data storage operations upon their data. This may result in the local computing device being unable to perform data storage operations upon the data of external computing devices that are still authorized in the data storage system. Therefore, the inability to effectively exclude such external computing devices in this example from requesting the use of resources in the data storage system may result in a denial of data storage operation services to authorized entities.
An entity in a data storage system that has multiple Network Interface Controllers (NICs) may be required, for one or more reasons, to receive and/or respond to connection requests on all of the NICs. For example, an entity that is in a clustered configuration (e.g., a Microsoft Windows clustered configuration), and that performs data storage operations upon the data of other entities, may be required (e.g., by the Microsoft Windows clustering software) to receive connection requests on the NIC of each node in the cluster. However, it may be desirable to configure the entity to receive and/or respond to connection requests on a subset of all of its NICs. As another example, it may be desirable to configure an entity that has multiple NICs, each attached to a different network (e.g., one NIC attached to a private network such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN) and one NIC attached to a public network such as the Internet), to only receive and/or respond to connection requests received at one NIC (e.g., to only receive and/or respond to connection requests received at the NIC attached to the private network).
The need exists for systems and methods that overcome the above problems, as well as systems and methods that provide additional benefits. Overall, the examples herein of some prior or related systems and methods and their associated limitations are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of existing or prior systems and methods will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the following Detailed Description.